Bhubaneswar: BJD and Congress legislators created a ruckus in the Odisha assembly on Friday over law and order situation in the state and alleged mismanagement in paddy procurement, prompting the Speaker to adjourn the House till noon.
The opposition members trooped to the well of the House even before Speaker Surama Padhy took her seat and raised slogans against the BJP government in the state. They demanded discussions on the law and order situation and alleged mismanagement in procuring paddy, and urged the Speaker to suspend all other businesses of the House.
Senior Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati was seen attempting to climb the Speaker’s podium. BJD members stressed the alleged mismanagement in the paddy procurement, while the Congress raised the law and order issue. Unable to run the House, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings till noon.
Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik said the BJD members staged an agitation in the House as the Speaker rejected the party’s notice for a discussion on farmers' issues. BJD's deputy leader in the assembly Prasanna Acharya alleged that farmers are in distress in 'mandis' (marketplace) set up by the state government.
The paddy procurement issue needs to be discussed in detail, he said. BJD MLA Ganeswar Behera claimed that farmers in 14 districts have been affected by unseasonal rain and "many of them died by suicide due to lack of government support". “We demand a detailed discussion,” he said.
